Tank or flume



Aug..23, 1938. R. c. HANSEN TANK OR FLUME Filed May 25, 1955 ATTORNEY f Aug. 23, 1938. R C, HANSEN 2,127,799

TANK 0R FLUMEl l Filed May 25, 1935A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 :L: 4 iE. Il:

zo 'zo INVENTOR FF'AY C. HANSEN ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 23, 1938 UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE TANK on FLUME Ray O. Hansen, Portland, Oreg.

Application May 25, 1935, Serial No. `23,429

11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in tank and nume construction, and has particular reference to a novel form of end closure and substructure therefor.

The subject matter of the invention pertains to certain modifications and improvements in the construction of tanks or umes such as are required for transportation, storage or purification of i domestic or industrial water supplies, or

i the purication of sewage, orfor analogous uses.

Certain novel features of this improved type of flume make it particularly adaptable for such uses in very rugged country, where the construction of lar-ge canals or conventional types of l5 storage tanks would be impracticable, or where economy inconstruction is a necessary expedient, The inventive concept contemplates the utilization of wood for the construction of tanks and ilumes that have heretofore required con- `-..`1 crete or steel for theirconstruction, and which the economical storage-or transportation of large bodies of water or similar liquids.

A further -ob-ject of the invention is to provide i an end closure for large tanks of semi-circular i cross section which will withstand the tremendous pressure exerted by the storedwater.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nevel form of end closure for large semi-circular tanks Whiclihwill not require the use of steel tie rods or other tension means to withstand longitudinal stresses.

A further object of the invention is to provide a substructure for large tanks or fiumes which will eectively withstand the transverse horizontal stresses of the flume walls without the necessity of employing a multiplicity of crossbars or supporting cradles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tank or nume of great capacity and subject to tremendous internal pressures which will be economical tc build and maintain, and which may be set upon mud sills, piling or soft ground, as desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tank or ume which may be suspended L;

from a pair of horizontal supports in such manner that distortion of the substructure will not rupture thetrough, and which will permit im-v mediate repair, of leaks `Withoutdraining orI eo emptying `theflurne or tank.

AWith these and other advantages and objects -inview,-the invention resides in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and set forth in the appended claims; itfg being-understood that various chang-es in form, proportion, size and details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without.` departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. gri-.10

In the drawings:

Figure I is an end elevation of a tank cmbodying the principles of my invention, a portionof the end closure being broken away to more clearly illustrate Vthe trough supportinggfl kmembers.

Figure II is a side elevation oi the tank illustrated in Figure I, a portion thereof being illustrated in section.

Figure III is a sectional top plan View of tha-T20 apparatus illustrated in Figure II.

Preliminaryto a more detailed description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention, it

i. may be stated in brief that it comprises a semicircular tank or. flume, the construction of which 25 `preferably is of wood, the troughl being formed i of staves i assembled to form a trough of semicircular cross section; Each of the staves is pro- .vided with a groove onione of its abutting edges and a bead on the other to simulate tongue ancla() `groove construction. between a..pair4 of longitudinally disposed beams The trough is suspended" 2 by means of suspension rods 3, the upper ends of which extend directly through said beams 2 and are held in place by means of nuts 4 and)35 Washers 5. A croze 6 is formed on the under?" side oi each of the beams 2 into which is fitted theupperxedge of the staves la, which constitute the rim of the trou-gh, to, retain theupper edge of the trough in position and to insure a water;40

. tight connection between the trough and the supthe outer periphery of said trough so as to maintain., same in semi-circular shape under load.y 55 The foundation sill 'I may rest upon mud sills or upon piling or upon soft earth, as necessity requires, the illustrated construction utilizing a plurality of foot boards Il disposed transversely beneath theioundation sill 'l to moreeffectively@` 60 spread the weight of the flume and substructure over a wide area.

One of the upright or Vertical timbers, indicated at 8a, extends the full height of the ume on either side thereof, a portion of the upper end of said upright timber 8a being cut away to form a shelf or abutment for the trough supporting timbers. Mounted upon said shelf is a joist I 2 extending longitudinally of the flume on either side of the trough and positioned to form a continuous bearing for the trough supporting beams 2.

The longitudinal trough supporting beams 2 and complementary supporting joists I2, which extend longitudinally of the flume, are interconnected with each of the series of supporting cradles by means of a rod I3 which extends transversely across the top of the trough to unite the upper ends of the opposed upright timbers 8a of each of the cradle structures. Each of these rods I3 passes directly through the longitudinal beams 2, a nut I4 and associated washer I4a bearing against the inside edge of each beam 2, and a similar nut I5 and washer I 5a bearing against the outer face of each upright timber 8a. It will be appreciated that by turning down the nut I5 the upper end of the upright timber 8a will be compressed tightly against the longitudinal beam 2, but that means other than the nut I5 and washer I5a is necessary to apply tension to the rod intermediate the longitudinal beams 2. For this purpose a turnbuckle I6 (see Figure I) is positioned on said rod I3 intermediate said beams 2 to adjust the amount of pull exerted by said rod. The longitudinal beams 2 and joists I2 are interconnected at spaced intervals by suitable bolts I'I disposed vertically therethrough. This construction obviates the necessity for a multiplicity of cradle structures or crossbars, the longitudinal beams and supporting joists being held against horizontal distortional forces in a manner presently to be described.

When the flume is under load the horizontal forces are exerted against the walls and tend to push them outwardly, due to the fact that the supporting cradles prevent the flume, when loaded, assuming a cross-sectional shape approximating a hydrostatic catenary, but maintain it in its original semi-circular shape. In prior constructions of this kind it has been customary to resist these horizontal forces by the use of closely spaced crossbars, one crossbar being customarily placed at each suspension rod. Having reference to Figures I and II it will be noted that in applicants structure these horizontal stresses are equalized by a series of tie rods extending transversely of the ume and which form a part of each of the series of cradle structures. These comprise the rod I3 which extends across the top of the ume to unite the upper ends of the upright timbers 8a, the pair of truss rods I8 which extend transversely of the cradle structure beneath the trough, and the anchor rod I9 extending transversely of the flume and directly through the cradle timbers at the base of the cradle. These tie rods constitute the sole lateral support for the upright timbers B of the cradle structure and serve to prevent them being pushed outwardly under the horizontal transverse stresses of the flume walls.

The head or end closure, by means of which sections of flume may be converted into storage tanks or the like, comprises an end beam or cap timber 20 disposed transversely of said flume adjacent one end thereof and extending across the top of the flume in such manner as to form an abutment for the longitudinal beams. 2. Within the periphery of the trough are a plurality of timbers 2I disposed in stacked relation on their at sides and lying in the same vertical plane as the cap timber 20 to forni a composite tank head. The head timbers 2| comprise broad, relatively thin boards, the two dimensions, in the construction illustrated, being approximately 2 inches by 14 inches. The dimensions of these head timbers are to be governed by the longitudinal forces to be overcome in each individual case. It has been discovered, however, that timbers of comparatively greater thickness than those used in the present construction tend to warp and twist, and do not lend themselves to be compressed so as to present a water tight end closure for large tanks. It has proven desirable to provide said head timbers 2I with a double tongue and groove construction, each timber preferably being provided with an opposed groove and bead adjacent either edge, as indicated at 22, so as to permit each timber to be interlocked with each adjacent timber.

It will be noted that there are no longitudinal tie rods interconnecting the tank heads or end closures. In the ordinary construction of this type of tank, the absence of such longitudinal tie rods for the end closures would necessitate the introduction of large quantities of steel to withstand the longitudinal stresses. In applicants construction a croze 23 in the staves I receives the peripheral edge of the composite head timbers 2|, the staves I extending a sufcient distance outside of the end closure to form a chine 24 for said Croze, and the entire longitudinal thrust of the impounded waters is received by this comparatively shallow chine.

To compress said stacked head timbers 2l f within the inner periphery of said trough so as to provide a water tight end closure therefor, there is provided a shoe 25, vertical tie rods 26, and peripheral tie rods 29. The shoe 25 is disposed upon the outer periphery of the trough in the same vertical plane as the cap timber 20 and stacked head timbers 2I an-d is patterned to conform to the periphery of the trough. The vertical tie rods 26 extend directly through said shoe and through the head timbers 2I and cap timber 20, and are equipped at either end with nuts 28 and washers 28a with which to apply tension thereto. These rods are spaced equally across the width of the ume, and it will be appreciated that by turning down the nuts 28 the head timpers 2I will be compressed between the cap timber 2Q and shoe 25 to form a water tight en-d closure for the tank. The shoe 25 is supported against the outer periphery of said trough solely by the tension of said tie rods 26, no other support being necessary or provided therefor. The staves I are compressed against the peripheral ends of the head timbers 2I by means of a plurality of closely spaced tie rods 29 traversing the outer periphery of the trough, the ends of said tie rods 29 extending through opposite end portions of the cap timber 2i), where tension is applied to the rods by means of nuts 30 which are turned down against suitable washers 3 I.

The construction illustrated and described implies its utilization in large tanks or flumes, although it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the structure defined is of economical value in connection with the construction of tanks or flumes of any size. The elastic nature of the construction illustrated, as distinguished from the rigid type of non-elastic iiume, will permit the absorption of unusual stresses, such as may be due to settlement or distortion of the foundation structure and which may cause a longitudinal twist in the flume, without causing rupture in the trough proper. However, should such a rupture occur in the trough, the resulting leak may effectively be stopped by further tightening the nuts 4 at either end of the suspension rods 3, thereby further compressing the longitudinal staves l between the supporting beams 2. This, of course, may be accomplished without draining or emptying the flume or tank,

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus of the character described having a sub-structure comprising a semi-circular trough, a foundation, a timber disposed vertically on said foundation at either side of said trough, a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed supporting members between which said trough is suspended, an-d a joist disposed longitudinally and exteriorly of said trough on either side thereof and bearing on said timbers to form a support for said supporting members.

2. An apparatus of the character described, a sub-structure comprising a semi-circular trough, a foundation, a timber disposed vertically on said foundation at either side of said trough, a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed supporting members between which said trough is suspended, sai-d supporting members being positioned intermediate said vertical timbers, and a joist disposed near the upper end of said timbers and longitudinally and exteriorly of said trough on either side thereof and bearing on said timbers to form a bearing for said supporting members.

3. An apparatus of the character described comprising a semi-circular trough, a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed supporting members between which said trough is suspended, transverse rods extending beneath said trough for suspending it from said supporting members, and a joist positioned longitudinally of eachy supporting member and beneath its outer e/dge exteriorly of the said rods to form a continuous bearing for each supporting member.

4. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a semi-circular trough, a sub-structure comprising a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed supporting members between which said trough is suspended, a timber disposed vertically at either side of said flume to provide a bearing for the trough supporting members, and tension means interconnecting said vertical timbers and engaging under the trough with the ends thereof anchored at a higher level.

5. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a semi-circular trough, a sub-structure comprising a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed supporting members between which said trough is suspended, a foundation, a plurality of timbers disposed vertically on said foundation, at least one of said timbers extending the full height of said trough on either side thereof to provi-de a bearing for the trough supporting members, at least one other of said vertical timbers being positioned to form a support for the walls of said trough, and tension means interconnecting said outermost timbers and engaging under the trough with the ends thereof anchored at a higher level.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, an end closure for a semi-circular trough, comprising a plurality of relatively wid-e, thin timbers disposed in stacked relation on their iiat sides within the periphery of said trough and adjacent one end thereof, a cap timber for said end closure, a shoe for said end closure, means for compressing said timbers between said cap timber and said shoe, and a rod engaging the ends of said cap timber and encircling said trough to compress said trough against the ends of said stacked timbers.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, an end closure for a semi-circular trough comprising a plurality of relatively wide, thin timbers disposed in stacked relation on their flat sides Within the periphery of said trough and adjacent one end thereof, a cap timber for said end closure, a shoe for said end closure, and means disposed vertically directly through said shoe, timbers and cap timber to compress said stacked timbers between said cap timber and said shoe.

8. In an apparat-us of the character described, an end closure for a semi-circular trough, a cap timber disposed transversely of said trough adjacent one end thereof, a plurality of relatively wide, thin timbers disposed in stacked relation on their flat sides within the periphery of said trough and lying in the same vertical plane as said cap timber, each of said timbers being interlocked with each adjacent timber, a shoe for said end closure, means to compress said timbers between said cap timber and said shoe, and means to compress said trough against the peripheral ends of said stacked timbers.

9. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a semi-circular trough, a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed beams between which said trough is suspended, means for suspending said trough from said beams, a cradle structure for supporting said longitudinal beams, and tension meansy to equalize the horizontal stresses of the trough under load, said means comprising a tie rod disposed across the topi of the trough and interconnecting the upper portion of the cradle structure, a truss rod extending transversely of the cradle structure beneath the trough, and an anchor rod for said cradle structure disposed transversely of said structure at its base.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a semi-circular trough, a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed supporting members between which said trough is suspended, transverse rods extending beneath said trough for suspending it from said supporting members, and a support for each of said members, said support being positioned at each side of the trough beneath the outer edge of each said member and outside the plane of said rods to permit said member to conform to changes in` curvature of the trough walls.

1l. A substructure for a semi-circular trough, comprising a foundation, a timber disposed vertically on said foundation at either side of said trough, a multiplicity of timbers disposed intermediate said vertical timbers being patterned to conform to the outer periphery of said trough so as to maintain same in semi-circular shape under load, a tie rod interconnecting said vertical timbers above the level of the trough, a truss rod interconnecting said vertical timbers and engaging under the trough and having its ends anchored at a higher level, and an anchor rod interconnecting said vertical timbers` at their base.

RAY C. HANSEN.. 

